Lit memories of All-Ireland Sundays

The real gift of this book is tucked away on a flap at the back: a CD of radio versions of the pieces

Horslips: back in the days of Dearg Doom

A new account of the band, full of personal recollections, gives a peek at Ireland in the 1960s and 1970s

Frank McGuinness: master of a novel form

A substantial and intriguing book to contemplate and to remember

Wreaking havoc from the skies over Europe

A damning account of the terrible civilian toll and military ineffectiveness of second World War bombing in Europe will trigger debate

Refusing to go quietly into that good night

But the tenth and final volume of Tony Benn’s diaries is more a lap of honour than a great work of politics or literature

A memoir steeped in empathy

Author reflects on a year spent coping with breast cancer, the end of a relationship, her mother’s Alzheimer’s and a residency at the Library of Water in Iceland

Bishop’s Move, by Colm Keena

Meet The Beatles

Nobody comes close to Mark Lewisohn as a scholar of the Fab Four. The extended special edition of his biography of the band is an epic on an unprecedented scale

Knights, chivalry and a ring of Tolkien

The epic author’s influence is apparent, but not overpowering, in this fast-moving adventure

Lethal Allies: British Collusion in Ireland: A shameful part of our troubled history

A powerful study by Anne Cadwallader of security forces collusion with loyalist paramilitaries underlines the need to deal with its legacy

Fairyland: A Memoir of My Father, by Alysia Abbott